Tournament Games
by tsutsuji
Summary: Zelgadis enters a tournament that is rumored to have a great magical prize. Silly and short, written for a 15 minute fic challenge.


Title: Tournament Games

Author: Tsutsuji

Fandom: Slayers

date written: 3/15/2010

Pairing: Zelgadis x Xelloss

Rating: PG

Warnings: none.

Word count: about 642

Summary: Zelgadis enters a tournament rumored to have a wondrous magical first prize.

A bit of silliness, written for a one word prompt at 15_minute_fic. Now Spellchecked! (thanks to cyberimp6!) ;D

* * *

The carnival-like competition had been announced far and wide on fluttering posters, on banners hung from trees, and by hawkers handing out fliers on the streets.

"Come one and all! Show your skills! Do your best for the pride of claiming the title of 'The Best' Among All Fighters and Sorcerers in the Land!" the posters said. "First Prize, a wheelbarrow of gold pieces and a Most Wondrous Magical Mystery Prize!"

After being assaulted by the advertisements for days, Zelgadis entered the tournament, determined to run the entire gauntlet of games and challenges Of course, he didn't care much about the wheelbarrow of gold, but who knew what a Wondrous Magical Mystery Prize might be! Rumors abounded: an ancient Book of Spells, a powerful amulet, a magical weapon that could defeat all others? Theories and stories about this magical prize dragged him in to the tournament.

He spent an entire day performing his magic in public, and showing his skill with the sword in front of a crowd of strangers - even though the rules absolutely _insisted_ that participants could not wear any mask or other devices to hide their faces, and the swordplay had to be performed in a special, tight-fitting costume that left little to the imagination, and the feats of physical strength absolutely positively _had_ to be performed while wearing only the briefest of briefs and nothing else.

Zelgadis was, of course, mortified and horrified to show himself, amidst both whistles and jeers from the crowd, but the rumors of the Great Magical Prize kept getting more and more irresistible. The Claire Bible was mentioned. He would have done all of the tasks in nothing more than his blushing stone skin, if that was the prize.

And of course, he won.

The wheelbarrow of gold was presented to him graciously - if a little nervously - by a small, balding man and a frighteningly curvaceous woman. He barely glanced at the gold, even though it was blinding in the sunlight, dazzling the greedy eyes of all the others.

"Never mind that," he said impatiently. He pulled his cloak back on and peered past them at the curtained pavilion where the ultimate Magical Prize was supposed to be. "What about the other first place prize? Where is it?"

He did not ask "what is it?" which, perhaps, he should have done at that point, before they stood aside and raised the curtains and let him go blundering in.....

To find, of course (you all knew this was coming; only Zelgadis himself could have missed it), none other than Xelloss, lounging on a bed of silk amidst tasseled pillows and rose petals, his naked limbs artfully and seductively arranged, coyly draped with a lavender sheet of satin and lace that nevertheless - like the swordplay costume - left very little to the imagination.

Zelgadis stopped, and stared, mouth hanging open, while the curtains fell closed behind him. The magical hush of a spell of privacy fell around the place, which he hardly noticed. He stood there staring for so long, in fact, that Xelloss finally gave it up and sighed, rather dramatically.

"Zel-san," he cooed. "Aren't you even going to claim your wondrous magical prize?"

Zelgadis finally found his voice and his breath again. He smirked as he dropped onto his knees on the bed, leaning over Xelloss.

"I should have known it was you, fruitcake!" he growled. "But you know," he continued gruffly as he pressed the mazoku back into the silken sheets and pillows. "You really didn't need to go to this much trouble just to let me know you want to be on the bottom this time!"

At which, of course, Xelloss giggled, until Zelgadis took his (not really necessary) breath away, and neither of them said much that made any sense at all for a long time after that.

^_^


End file.
